That was hard to decide, since it was more permanent than putting on a suit. He was handsome no matter what length his beard and hair were. It just gave him a different effect.
“I-I like this length just as much as it was before.” She licked her bottom lip, a bit nervous to say the next part. “You’re very handsome either way.”
By the wicked smile on his face, she was sure it wasn’t anything he didn’t know.
He placed a quick kiss on her lips before he released her throat to pull down the big comforter. “Get in bed before I change my mind.”
Backing up from the dangerous being, she hurriedly got under the covers, pulling the thick material around her while she rested back on the bed. It had been a very long, painful day, and it all hit her just how tiring it had been.
When he started walking away, she sat up halfway. “W-Where are you go—”
“I’m just going to change. I’m not leaving you, darlin’.”
Relaxing back, she watched him go to his dresser again. She wasn’t able to look away when he pulled off the black tie then started unbuttoning his shirt. His dark Italian skin glowed in the dimly-lit room, highlighting the muscles all over his body.
Lucca had the body type every woman desired, and every man dreamed of having. His arms, chest, shoulders, and upper back were the biggest part of him, having a tapered waist that had a strong six pack. She’d had a hint of what he might look like underneath just based on his black shirts hugging the top part of him, but never in her wildest dreams had she thought he would have been as perfect as she was seeing now. Everything about him truly put every other man to shame; as his lesser. Lucca was born right where he belonged. The king of Kansas City.
Turning her head away when he went to remove his pants, she pulled the comforter to her tighter and closed her eyes, trying not to picture the devil’s face in her mind. She lay there like that for a few minutes until the bed moved and strong arms pulled her to a hard, warm body. The skin she felt was alarming, making her pull away to see it was his bare chest.
Lucca held her firmly, bringing her back to him. “I’m not naked, darlin’, but I’m not going to wear a shirt, either.”
Now that she could feel the thick material covering his bottom half, she eased back into him, yet still stiffly. It was strange to be held, feeling his skin all over her, but it was also strangely nice.
Both of their bodies held a cooling, minty scent between them, making her melt into him. She honestly felt she couldn’t get enough of that smell. It called to her, soothing her.
The longer she lay with him like this, held by him against his chest, the faster the now faint trails of where the devil had touched her began to disappear. The memory, however, remained very much there, sending a shiver coursing through her body.
“D-Did you know that it was him who …?” Killed your mother.
He rubbed his fingers up and down her back. “Yes, I always had the feeling he had something to do with her death, but I could never prove it.”
“I’m s-sorry.” She pressed closer to him, knowing how Lucca felt about his mother, though he never said it. “I’m sorry you had to wait that long.”
His voice went dark. “I got him now, and that’s all that matters.”
Shivering at his words, her hair stood on end, thinking about the devil’s wretched fate. It also comforted her to know he wouldn’t be able to touch her again.
Beginning to fall asleep, the nightmares weren’t as harsh while being in his arms, but she could still feel them coming for her, silently tormenting her.
Even though the devil’s fate was fatal, she just wished her soul would have been set free …
Every night for weeks, Lucca always had the same nightmare whenever he closed his eyes …
Lucca could feel it suddenly hit him. It was like a change in the direction of wind—the feeling of dread that something terrible was about to take place.
His eyes went to her, knowing she felt it, too. The look of pure terror upon Chloe’s face when the gunshots rang out through the mall would haunt him until the day he died.
He was so close, yet so far away from her again. The people running at him wouldn’t let him push through to get to her. No matter how hard he tried to fight through the wave of what felt like thousands of people, he was still only one man.
She wasn’t moving. She needed to mo—
“Chloe!” He singled out Amo’s voice through the chaos.
He and Amo stood at equal distances apart, at equal distances away from her. The three made a triangle, with her being at the top.
He fought harder against the wave as he watched her take a small step toward Amo. He needed her to move faster and to him, knowing he would take the bullet for her if it came to that.
“Chloe, move!”
When she took a step again, this time toward him, his heart thudded in his chest, feeling like it was synced with hers. That’s it, baby, come to me.
“This way, Chloe!” Amo’s voice cut through again.
No! “To me, Chloe!” He needed her. She needed him. He had to hold her. He had to save her. He had dreamt of this moment for months.
If he saw her walk away with Amo yet again, he didn’t know if he would be able to handle it, not for a second time.
Lucca could see the indecision on her face, the choice before her. It frightened him to his core, the thought that she would choose Amo, knowing it would be the wrong one. His and Chloe’s souls were tethered together, twirling into one. He just hoped she could feel it.
Come to me and let me save you. I love you, Chloe.
When he watched her move toward him, he could have cried. She felt it!
Then he watched something change as she stared into his eyes. Fear. Fear of him.
He felt himself beginning to lose her when she looked back at Amo. It was like time had unfrozen while he watched in slow motion as she ran to the one she had chosen.
There was no heartbreak in this world that compared to his when she jumped into another man’s arms. One who didn’t belong with her. One who could never possibly love her the way he did. One who would never ever truly save her, because he didn’t even know her soul no longer belonged to her. A soul that could only be returned to her by him …
Holding her now, he could close his eyes without the nightmares, knowing she had finally picked him. Knowing that her soul was finally in his possession. He just had to wait until she was ready, until she was ready to fully accept what she had always been meant to be. His.
Forty-Four
As Ye Sow, So Shall Ye Reap.
“Put the cigarette out, Lucca,” Dante ordered, annoyed by the smell. They had been discussing the Luciano family’s fate, and he was already furious enough as it was.
Lucca flicked the ashes off his cigarette, ignoring the order.
Dante’s jaw flexed as he waved his hand in front of his face to get the smoke to dissipate.
A brief knock on the door interrupted the staring contest between the two men. The consigliere had arrived.
Vinny waited until the door closed behind him to say, “The Lucianos have requested a meeting.”
Dante took a swig of his glass, his attitude unforgiving.
The consigliere knew his boss too well.
“I think we should listen to what they have to say. If war is inevitable, then so be it, but if it can be averted by the Lucianos making amends, should we not at least listen to their offer?”
“No.” His father’s pitiless gaze moved to Lucca’s. “If she hadn’t been there, I would have fucking lit that place up.”
You mean, if I didn’t care about her. Taking a bigger hit, he blew the puff of smoke in his father’s direction.
“We might win the war, but there will be costs. Make sure you are willing to pay that price, Dante,” Vinny told him with finality.
Lucca put his cigarette out in the ashtray. “I say we hear what they have to say.”
After a few moments and a few sips
later, Dante abruptly nodded his head.
Vinny opened the door, letting the three Lucianos enter. At least they were smart enough to keep their eyes down and respectfully bowed their heads to his father, while Dante’s ice-cold eyes pierced each one of their souls.
“Mr. Caruso, we are here to beg for your forgiveness.” Dominic took a step toward the desk, looking more disheveled than usual, which wasn’t saying much. His brown hair was messed up as if he had been running his fingers through it repeatedly, his dark beard that usually successfully disguised his sinister expression only accented it, and his tattoos under his V-neck muscle shirt showed starkly against his olive complexion.
All three of the men appeared as if they hadn’t slept.
Angel and Matthias’ hands were in their jacket pockets, both wearing stony expressions. Lucca knew their pride was suffering from having to listen to Dominic come to beg Dante for their lives.
“Why should I give it? Your father broke the contract to keep the peace between our families.” Dante slammed his fist down on his desk, causing the cigarette’s ashes from the ashtray to fly up into the air. “He murdered my wife!”
Dominic now looked into the cold eyes. “We had no knowle—”
“I don’t give a fuck!” Dante cut him off. “Lucifer and his men also broke into my home, took something that belonged to the Carusos, and almost killed one of my best men, who is still fighting for his life. Your father wouldn’t have given the same consideration to my sons, to my family!” The ferocity in his depths grew, along with the disgust on his face. “He didn’t even care if Sal would die trying to defend me. A son he didn’t want to claim because of the embarrassment of fucking a drugged-out whore, even though the Luciano family name was becoming extinct. But why am not surprised? If he didn’t care Sal was starving on the streets when he was a kid, why would he give a fuck when Sal was grown?”
Sitting there quietly, Lucca took out his lighter and began flicking it open and closed. They were to never speak about Lucifer being Sal’s biological father, not even Sal himself. He had only ever heard Dante talk about it once.
“My father regretted his decision not to claim Sal, but it was too late. You had already taken him in. Angel, Matthias, and I never agreed with our father’s decision not to claim Sal as his son. We are only soldiers trained to obey his orders. Lucifer insured loyalty through fear, you insure loyalty through respect. Sal was better off on the streets than being under our father’s thumb.”
Dante sat back in his chair, his ears seemingly attempting to listen. “As you and your brothers were?”
“Yes. Lucifer wasn’t an easy man to live with, let alone have as a father.” Dominic’s grim face showed that this wasn’t the first time he had begged for his and his brothers’ lives.
“Are you trying to gain my sympathy? The Lucianos have been shown mercy once already by not having their name wiped out. Your father was left alive to continue the name, and he has betrayed the Caruso family, not once but twice.”
Dominic shook his head. “We aren’t in a war. Wars have two sides.”
“You telling me the Lucianos won’t avenge Lucifer and his men?”
Dominic gave a sarcastic, almost demonic, laugh. “Avenge them? You did us a favor.”
Lucca stared down at his Zippo. “If you wanted your father dead, why didn’t you take him out yourselves?”
“Lucifer knew I hated him. I wanted him dead, but not at the cost of one of my brothers’ lives. He was careful to always keep one of the twins next to someone he trusted, someone who wouldn’t hesitate to put a bullet in their head.”
“He didn’t trust you?” Lucca looked into Dominic’s eyes to see if he was lying.
“No, Lucifer didn’t trust any of his sons. He used the Luciano name to butcher and destroy anyone who was in his way, even at the expense of his own family. You weren’t the only one killing the Lucianos off. No one was safe from him. He wasn’t the best choice to lead our family. What few of us are left only want peace and to rebuild our name.”
Vinny moved from the side of Dante’s desk to stand in front, the consigliere taking over the conversation. “And which Luciano has been chosen to lead?”
Dominic’s gaze didn’t waver. “Me.”
Vinny and Dante shared a long glance, but it was Vinny who said, “You may carry the name, but will they accept you?”
“They already have.” Dominic stared back at the two older men arrogantly. “They’ll follow me; I’ll make sure of it.”
“How do you propose to alleviate Dante’s anger?” Vinny asked.
“The Lucianos will give up another fourth of our profits until you see fit to go back to the original contract agreed upon.”
Vinny didn’t turn to Dante to see if he agreed. He knew, as well as Lucca did, that the ridiculous offer wouldn’t deter his father’s anger.
“Half.” Vinny increased Dominic’s offer to one that would hurt.
Dominic sharply nodded his head, his quick response showing he had expected his low ball offer to be refused.
Vinny hadn’t become Dante’s consigliere by being an idiot. His sharp gaze watched Dominic’s expression as he dropped the next bombshell. “The Luciano men need help rebuilding their bloodlines. The Italian blood running through your blood is weak and diluted,” Vinny spat out, his voice hitting the three like a whip with the insult. “A woman from the Luciano family who is at a marriageable consent will be chosen to wed one of the Carusos.”
Lucca evilly grinned as he rolled his Zippo through his fingers. The show he had expected from Vinny was much more pleasing than he had originally thought.
Dominic clearly hadn’t planned on that, and Angel and Matthias weren’t able to hide their own horrified expressions.
“Which one of the women do you want? Which Caruso would she be expected to marry?” Dominic grated out.
Vinny shrugged. “Both will be up for Dante and I to decide. Whoever we choose from the Carusos will be able to see that the Luciano will live up to the contract this time. Trust will be earned, one child at a time, as the Caruso’s blood mingles with the Luciano’s. Maybe by the time we have four or five Carusos born, Dante will feel more forgiving. A child can heal a lot of wounds.”
Dominic wasn’t as quick to agree to the second term when he nodded his head. “Are we done?”
“Not quite.” Vinny smiled. What they had thought was hard before wasn’t going to compare to this. “Until Dante can find it in his heart to find forgiveness, one of the twins will be our insurance. If any part of the contract isn’t enforced, one of your brothers will pay the price.”
It just keeps getting better.
The twins looked at each other. Neither brother wanted the other chosen.
Angel stepped forward. “I’ll stay.”
Matthias moved to stand beside Dominic. “No, I will.”
Both of them were trying to protect the other. Lucca guessed it wasn’t the first time.
He studied the men. Opening his mouth, a name was coming to his lips, when Vinny spoke before he could.
“Angel.”
Lucca took out one of his cigarettes from his pack. It was a no-brainer for Vinny to choose Angel. None of the Lucianos would ever be considered classy, but the twins looked like thugs. The number of tattoos and overblown muscles were more suited to the riffraff found in the dark alleyways of the old city of their heritage. The identical twins were mirror images. From what Lucca knew, everyone in the Lucianos joked that the only way to tell them apart was to stare at the images of their tattoos. The twins shared the same exact tattoos, even going so far as placing them in the same exact part of their bodies. The difference was, Angel’s tattoos were the mirror image of Matthias’. Lucca understood what Vinny didn’t. Angel was the twisted image of Matthias.
Lucca debated challenging Vinny’s choice. Instead, he decided to keep quiet. He wasn’t fooled by the attempts of the Lucianos to save their lives. They reminded him of a rabid dog that was just waiting
for the right time to attack, ripping off the hand that fed them.
Dominic shook his head. “Matthias would be the better choice. I wouldn’t do anything that would jeopardize either of my brothers’ lives.”
That Lucca believed.
Vinny raised his hand, stopping Dominic. “Angel is the younger one. The Lucianos have taken a protective attitude toward him.”
Lucca lit his cigarette to keep from laughing.
Angel was lazy. He let everyone do his dirty work for him. Matthias would break bones if the gang bangers and drug dealers didn’t pay for their protection. If breaking bones didn’t work, that was when Angel would be sent in. When he was finished, the protection was paid for with interest.
Lucca had a better chance of controlling Angel than his own family did. He didn’t want Angel to do anything to break the fragile peace that was being given to them.
Lucca remained silent, feeling a flash of respect for Dominic. The new boss of the Lucianos wanted a true peace for the first time in decades.
Lucca met Dominic’s gaze. “I supervise the men. I’ll find the perfect place for him.”
Everyone in the room could see them size each other up as Lucca silently told him he wasn’t fooled by Angel.
It was a strange thing but, for once, Lucca actually wanted peace between the two families. After his mother had been killed, he hadn’t given two shits if they were in a war. He had begged for it to exact revenge. Chloe had changed that, however. He wanted peace to keep her safe.
It had taken years to fully understand the enormous responsibility his father held.
Dominic turned back to Vinny. “So, we good?”
“Dante?”
His father’s expression was torn.
Lucca looked down at the glowing tip of his cigarette. He wanted peace for Chloe’s sake, but it was Dante’s wife they had killed.
“Dante,” Vinny repeated sadly. “Whatever you do will not bring Melissa back. If the Lucianos redeem themselves, then what have you lost? You already lost what was most important to you. A child born with Caruso and Luciano blood could accomplish what generations have tried to do—bring true peace.”
Lucca (Made Men #4) Page 20
